October 18, 2012 - Shining Rock Wilderness and Graveyard Fields in North
Carolina were closed Wednesday to camping for the first time in at least five
years after seven black bear encounters with humans were reported to the U.S.
Forest Service.
The Forest Service said in a news release that the agency
will “monitor conditions to determine when it is safe” to open the areas back
up to camping.
N.C. Wildlife Resources Commission Biologist Mark Carraway
said an acorn shortage at higher elevations was a contributing factor to the
recent emergence of the black bears. The acorn crop at the higher elevations
wasn’t sufficient enough to feed the bears, which pushed them down to a more
plentiful crop at lower elevations.
